Va. Beach rental homes have largely weathered recession

VIRGINIA BEACH

Betsy Atkinson ushered Dwight Dunton up the front steps of the beach house.

He followed as she unlocked the door, walked in and flipped on the lights. Peering into each room, he wondered whether his four young daughters and their nanny could relax in the family room, while he and his wife entertained in the kitchen.

An apartment developer from Northern Virginia, Dunton was looking for a house to rent for a summer vacation in Virginia Beach.

"We're a little limited because we're a little booked up," said Atkinson of Atkinson Realty Inc. - ERA.

Dunton enlisted Atkinson in May, late in the game. He wanted to rent for three weeks in the summer.

Virginia Beach is best known for the hotels that line the resort strip between the Oceanfront Boardwalk and Pacific Avenue. More than two-thirds of the city's 7.9 million overnight visitors last year stayed in hotels, time-shares and other commercial accommodations in the city, according to the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

More people probably think of North Carolina's Outer Banks when they think of renting a house for a week or more in the summer. But sprinkled in among the thousands of residences at the North End, Croatan and Sandbridge are hundreds of rental properties.

The visitors bureau doesn't neglect the rental market, actively marketing to travelers who are considering vacation cottages, said Ron Kuhlman, vice president of the bureau's tourism marketing and sales.

"We know that people who go to vacation homes stay longer and, because of the cost of homes, they spend more money," he said.

Rental homes offer vacationers an alternative beach experience - a chance to live like a local.

Dunton, 36, travels to Virginia Beach nearly every week for business, staying in a hotel or a guest suite at one of the apartment properties he's developed. He founded Bonaventure Realty Group LLC, a private, Arlington-based apartment development and investment firm, in 1999. His firm runs nearly a dozen local apartment complexes, so he's familiar with the area.

Dunton has vacationed with his family on the Outer Banks and in Delaware, but he prefers Virginia Beach.

"It's not only a vacation town," he said. "It has the benefits of being a resort town, but the conveniences of a big city."

He wants to buy a vacation home in Virginia Beach, he said, and renting for a few weeks will be his "training wheels."

Beach vacation rentals are featured on websites such as www.visitvirginiabeach.com.

Dunton wanted a closer look.

"Seeing it and talking to someone who can give you the local color of what's going on with the home is invaluable," he said.

Atkinson Realty is one of about a dozen firms representing vacation rental homes at the Oceanfront. It offers approximately 160 vacation houses and condominiums for rent in Virginia Beach and manages the properties from the marketing to the cleaning.

"Vacation rentals are the root of Atkinson Realty," said Atkinson, who has been a Realtor in Virginia Beach since 1968.

The market has been consistent over the years, unaffected by the recession, she said.

Other large firms include Siebert Realty, with about 400 homes, and Sandbridge Realty, with more than 300.

"People come down for vacation and fall in love with the community," said Lisa Roland, marketing director for Sandbridge Realty.

Business has been steady in recent years, she said. Some renters even turn into buyers, Roland added.

For Atkinson properties, check-out is 10 a.m. and check-in is 3 p.m., and the pace is constant throughout the summer.

"We have a five-hour window to get these houses inspected and cleaned," Atkinson said.

At the North End, key words in the rental lingo are "ocean-side" and "landside." They distinguish whether a property is east or west of Atlantic Avenue and dictate the price range. Oceanside homes rent for more than $2,000 per week "in season." Landside can be several hundred dollars less, depending on the house.

"Oceanfront" homes top the ladder, with weekly price tags reaching up to about $10,000 for a large, well-kept home.

Through the years, Atkinson has seen renters looking for more and more amenities. At first, she fielded requests for rentals with air conditioning; then, a telephone. And later, television. Now, everyone wants Internet access.

Renters can ask - and pay - for even more. In 2009, Lisa Gross established Cupcakes & Flip Flops, a concierge service for renters and people with a second home at the beach.

She will stock a house with groceries, flowers, beach gear and more. She also books bike rentals, buys tickets for festivals or movies, and schedules surfing lessons or kayak tours.

On a recent morning, Gross filled a refrigerator with fresh food, arranged pink flowers in vases, and spread sheets on the beds at a North End home the day before a family arrived.

"Anything that's a pain to do when you get there and want to go to the beach," she said.

Dunton had clear guidelines for his vacation rental search.

"It has to be oceanside of the main road, so we don't have to cross traffic," he said.

Four to five bedrooms was a must. The family also wanted a pool. "When we're done battling the surf and sand, the kids can splash around," he said.

And Dunton preferred the North End.

"It has easier access," he said. "I've seen the gridlock."

His choices were limited because so much already was booked. Atkinson's advice for renters: "Book early," she said. "Book before Christmas for next summer."

She took Dunton to look at an older home on 71st Street that she described as "quaint," with a beach cart and a grassy yard for $3,500 a week, and a modern dwelling in Croatan, south of Rudee Inlet, for $4,000 a week with an added amenity.

A bidet.

"That was not on the wish list," Dunton said.

But a nice kitchen was. The rental would be their home away from home. The family would prepare its own meals to avoid the cost of eating out.

The Croatan house had its pluses with an open floor plan, pool and crow's nest with an ocean view.

The Duntons ended up choosing the North End cottage. They'd survive without the pool, and they'd have a yard and a deck.

"This house, while it's more dated, it's more like a home," he said. "You can't live like a vacation for three weeks; you have to live like a family."

Stacy Parker, (757) 222-5432, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com